in70mm.com Mission:
• To record the history of the large format movies and the 70mm cinemas
as remembered by the people who worked with the films. Both during
making and during running the films in projection rooms and as the
audience, looking at the curved screen.•
in70mm.com, a unique internet based magazine, with articles about 70mm
cinemas, 70mm people, 70mm films, 70mm sound, 70mm film credits, 70mm
history and 70mm technology. Readers and fans of 70mm are always welcome
to contribute.

As requested by you herewith I am sending the details regarding the 70mm
films produced in India. All films were originally photographed in the
CinemaScope format and 70mm blow-up prints with Six-track magnetic
stereo sound were made for theatrical release. The list might not be
complete as I could gather only so much details and even that took me
such a long time!

I am enclosing a film clipping from "Padayottam" photographed by
me. Also there is a song book of "Padayottam" in Malayalam
Language which was meant to educate the audience about the various
formats and how six track stereo sound is reproduced in the theatre. You
will find also some information about the attempt to manufacture a
65mm Camera for the first time in our country.

I hope the information provided will be of use to you and please do not
hesitate to contact us for any thing you need.

2008 update

Dear Thomas
Hauerslev,

Thanks for remembering me and mailing me and also for putting my
70 mm frames and song book in your website. Unfortunately no more 70mm
productions are being made in Indian film productions. There are no 65mm
cameras in India as well. Though many theatres are equipped with 70mm
projectors, they have to depend upon Hollywood productions for screening in
the bigger format and as such, these films are rare. So 70mm screenings are
NIL in the present day situation and even if you want to project one, you
will find it very difficult as in many of them the sound systems will not be
functioning well because of poor maintenance. Many of the bigger theatres
are making way for smaller compact multiplexes and shopping malls. I
congratulate you for keeping alive the past glory of the 70mm widescreen
format during these days of digital imaging.

2014 update, 25.12.2013

Dear
Thomas,

Thanks for your Well Wishes. I too Wish you A Merry X Mas and a Very Happy
2014.

Coming to 70mm Films in India, certain things needs to be corrected
regarding the First 70 mm Film of India which is "Around the world"
(Hindi-Urdu) 1967 and not "Sholay" as I have mentioned earlier. You
can see it in the credit titles of the film, a screen grab which is attached
with this mail. More information can be found at this
link. I do hope this information will be useful to you for updating your
site.

"Padayottam" 70mm Frame

From thirty five to sixty five

Only
one camera was made, the one seen in the picture with the Steadicam mount
was a prototype to which a Hasselblad lens was temporarily fixed.

Can't
we make cameras? The largest film producing country doesn't manufacture
indigenous shooting cameras in various gauges of film. Yes we can make, and
has gone one step ahead than anybody else can think of it. A young
cinematographer Mr. T. V. Somasundaram with lot of ambitions and ideas
burning inside all set started with small gadgets to supplement the needs of
other cinematographers years back.

He first started with the first set of vacum base with nylon grip cups and
different cameras has donned his vacum base for chasing sequences, whether
it is horses, cars, trains, under the carriages br over, or on sides and
even at ground level. Years have gone thro' with lot of feature films shot
with the help of Mr. T. V. Somasundaram. As cinematographer for hot and
rugged sequences and still he is in demand for the same. His thirst for new
inventions never had a stop with smallones.

Seven years ago he started making a sixty five mm movie camera even the
Westerners didn't think about. A camera with less weight, variable and
constant motor in one, flexible eyepiece tube, and can be mounted on a
steadicam where as the sixty five mm camera manufactured in western
countries are huge in size and bulky in operation. (See technical details in
box).

Having tested with raw stock brought from London, exposed through Carl Zeiss
lens of HASSELBLAD still camera, the results are very good in colourwise,
sharpness form edge to edge vithout any grains formation.

Still to improve in facilities, T.V. Somasundaram the inventor waits for
further assistance financially and for some Technical parts to be imported
for Betterment of the camera. All these years he has struggled to make this
camera with his own remuneration he has eamed thro' his profession alone!
With a good sponsoring for his completion of camera for operational use,
India can be proud of manfacturing the first light weight 65mm Camera.